Needle bed for use in knitting machines



March 4, 1947. MORGENSTERN 2,416,938

, NEEDLE BED FOR USE IN KNITTING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1941 Ab eal Morgefiszern Patented Mar. 4, 1947 NEEDLE BED FOR USE IN KNITTENG MACHINES Alfred Morgens'tern, Rottenburg-on-the-Neckar,- Germany; vested in the Attorney General of the United .States.

ApplicationJulyB, 1941, Serial N0.-4=(i1,023'

1 In Germany July: 26., .1940

9. Claims.- 1

This invention relates to a needle bed for-use in knitting machines.

The slots in the needle beds of knittingmachines, whic-hact as guides for the needles, particularly in coarser gage machines with larger spacing of the needles, are usuallyproduced-by milling and correspond in size to'the thickness of the needles. This method is, however, not applicable to finer gage machines, since the portions separating the slots would become too weak and break easily, and the-needle guides in machines of this class are thereforeproducedv at present by inserting steel members in milled slots of the needle beds. These steel'insertions are made of high-grade material and strong enough to resist damaging stresses, but their'use is nevertheless open to objections.

In the first place, the number of slotsand insertions must be equal'to that crime needles of the machine concerned. Furthermore, as the thickness of the insertions and thus the width of the slots to be out are determined by the gage of'the machine, it is obvious that the-insertions employed in machines of fine or finest gage must be extraordinarily Weak; The production of slots for these thin insertions is, moreover, very difii cult, and sometimes practically impossible, because the tools required for this kind of work are extremely sensitive. and possess little resistance, and the necessary-accuracy with respecttc the width of the; slots canhardly b obtained. In view of the large'number of cuts to .be made the diiiiculties mentioned are, quite serious, and it takes therefore disproportionally much time-to manufacture such needle beds;

The invention overcomes these drawbacks'by providing a grooved needlebed member; particularly adapted for line and finest gages, in which at least two" elongated flat elements are inserted in each groove, which elements have respective integral portions projecting from the groove in spaced relation one with anotherto provide a needle slot, the grooves being therefore so wide that the prevailing difiiculties involved in the production of the grooves serving for the reception of only one guiding member are eliminated. The width of each groove according to the invention amountsat least to twice the thickness of one of said projecting portions of the insertions plus the space betweenthe projecting portions, i, e., plus the thickness of the needle.

The invention is of course particularly adapted to needle beds having fine or finest divisions, but

it can be applied also to standard gages, since only one-half of the number of grooves need be made as wide as indicated.

The insertions are suitably secured in the grooves and prevented from lateral displacement by means of fillers. The insertions are preferably arranged so that they bear against the side walls of the grooves, which thus mechanically insure their proper position.

The fillers may form separate pieces or projections of the insertions and constitute therefore either plain plate sections or are offset so as to produce projections.

The space between the insertions by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1 and 2 are each a sectional front view of a portion of a needle bed according to the invention;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show four different arrangements of the insertions;

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional and side view of the filler shown Fig. l; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional and side views of the insertions shown in Figs. l, 5 and 6 on the one hand and in Fig. 3 on the other.

The needles a are guided between elongated fiat members b which are inserted in parallel milled .sl'ots or grooves c of the needle bed at of a knitting machine. In the arrangements shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 two insertions b are provided in .a. commongroo-ve 0, Whilst in the construction shown in Fig. 6 three insertions h occupy a common groove 0. The number of insertions for each groove may be chosen at will.

According to the invention, the grooves c are so. wide that at least we insertions b can be accommodated, the width of the grooves e depending. upon the gage of the machine. The

arrangement ispreferably such that the insertions b bear against the side walls 6 of the grooves c and-their relative position. is hired by the Walls e serving as stops. The space between the insertions. bin the grooves c is fully occupied by fillers f of any suitable shape.

Fig. 3 shows a construction in which the fillers have the form of shoulders f of the insertions b Whose portion placed Within the grooves c is offset so that the shoulder f is alternately disposed to the right and left. The members b are inserted in pairs in the grooves 0 so as to hug the side Walls e thereof whilst the shoulders i bear against eachother, and they are heldin the grooves c insuitable manner. In the example shown this isaeffectedby means of inoses .g formed ,at the upper portion of the members b and engaging an undercut groove h of the bed d, as indicated in 0. Therefore the bottoms of the slots c are substantially flush with the tops of intermediate ribs so that all needles will be supported substantially in the same plane.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4 the insertions 1) are of uniform profile corresponding to their thickness, and the fillers f are inserted as separate units.

Fig. 5 shows a construction in which the insertions 1) form a combination of those shown in Figs. 3 and 4, i. e., one of the two members I) has a lateral shoulder serving as filler f and the other is a plate member, the shoulder 1 extending up to the plate insertion b. 7

In Fig. 6 the filler 1 extends from one inserted plate member in to the other as in Fig. 4 and supports an intermediate member b, so that the members I) of each groove c form two needle guide slots is. The shape of the members 31 formed by the fillers is optional.

What is claimed is:

1. A needle bed for knitting machines comprising a bed member having substantially parallel spacedgrooves in one face thereof thereby formin ribs between adjacent grooves, and a plurality of elongated elements disposed in each groove, at least two of said elements in each groove each having an elongated portion projecting outwardly beyond the outer faces of said ribs 'and in parallel spaced relationship one with another thereby forming elongated needle slots between the projecting portions, and the base of each of said slots lying substantially in the plane of said bed face.

2. A needle bed for knitting machines comprising a bed member having substantially parallel spaced grooves in one face thereof thereby forming ribs between adjacent grooves, and a plurality of elongated flat elements filling each groove, at least two of said elements in each groove each havin an elongated flat portion projecting out wardly at right angles to said bed face and in' spaced parallel relationship one'with another thereby forming elongated needle slots between the projecting portions, the base of each slot comprising an elongated flat surface whose Width extends transversely fro-m the junction of the two adjacent elements and substantially in the plane of said bed face.

3. A needle bed for knitting machines comprising a. bed member having substantially parallel and equally spaced groovesin one face thereof thereby forming ribs between adjacent grooves, and a plurality of fiat elongated elements disposed in each groove, a pair of flat elongated portions projecting outwardly from two of said elements and beyond the outer faces of said ribs in parallel spaced relationship one with another thereby forming elongated needle slots between the projecting portions, the width of the space between the projecting portions of each pair being equal to the width of the space separating adjacent pairs, and the base of each slot comprising an elongated flat portion whose width extends transversely from the junction of two adjacent elements.

4. A needle bed for knitting machines comprising a bed member having substantially parallel spaced grooves in one face thereof thereby forming ribs between adjacent grooves, and a plurality of flat elongated elements disposed in each groove and projecting outwardlybeyond the outer faces of said ribs, atleast one of the projecting portions of said elements having a groove formed in the face thereof adjacent the projecting portion of the other element, said groove cooperating with the last named projecting portion to form a needle slot.

5. A needle bed for knitting machines comprising a, bed member having substantially parallel spaced grooves in one face thereof thereby forming elongated ridges between adjacent-grooves, a pair of plate members disposed in each groove, a filler member disposed in said groove and separating said plates, said members having respective elongated portions equidistantly spaced and projecting outwardly beyond th outer faces of said ridges. V

6. A needle bed for knitting machines comprising a bed member'having substantially parallel spaced grooves in one face thereof thereby forming elongated ridges between adjacent grooves, a pair of plate membersdispos'ed in each groove, a filler member disposed in said slot and separating the proximate faces of said plate members, and equally spaced parallel flat portions integral with said members respectively, said portions projecting equidistantly beyond the outer faces of said ridges.

7. A needle bed according to claim 6 wherein the bottoms of the spaces between the fiat projecting portions lie substantially in the plane of said bed face. I h

8. A needle bed for knitting machines comprisinga bed member having substantially parallel spaced grooves in one face thereof thereby form fiat elongated elements disposed in each groove.

and projecting outwardly beyond the outer faces of said ribs, one of the proximate faces of said projecting portions having an elongated groove formed therein, said groove cooperating with the other'of the faces to form a needle slotf ALFRED MORGENSTERN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of thispatent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,050,060 Lawson Augusta, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS j Number 7 Country Date 16,218 British 1886 21,353 British 1895 

